Loom stop motion

ABSTRACT

A flexible keeper device carried by the sliding feeler bar of a loom stop motion for maintaining the feeler bar in operating position within the motion&#39;&#39;s sliding feeler bar holder, and by manually deforming the device permit unrestricted removal of the feeler bar from the feeler bar holder.

llnite States Patent [191 Childs June 118, 1974 LOOM STOP MOTION [75]Inventor: Richard L. Childs, Mendon, Mass.

[73] Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Apr. 30, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 355,721

[52] 11.8. C1. 139/369 [51] Int. Cl D03d 51/28 [58] Field of Search139/369, 358, 349, 353

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,026,941 5/1912 Baker139/369 X 1,051,664 1/1913 Baker 139/369 Baker 139/369 1,433,558 10/1922Livermore 139/369 1,538,625 v 5/1925 Davis et al. 139/369 2,322,3856/1943 Payne 139/369 2,556,332 6/1951 Meadors, Jr. et a1 139/353 PrimaryExaminer-James Kee Chi 5 .7] ABSTRACT A flexible keeper device carriedby the sliding feeler bar of a loom stop motion for maintaining thefeeler bar in operating position within the motions sliding feeler barholder, and by manually deforming the device permit unrestricted removalof the feeler bar from the feeler bar holder.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures LOOM STOP MOTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONWarp stop motions for looms of the well known mechanical type employ asliding feeler bar movable within a generally U-shaped feeler barholder, both of which are notched at their top edges to cooperate instopping the loom in the event a drop wire ceases to be held in anelevated position by its respective warp thread.

The known forms of sliding feeler bar holders are fabricated fromseparate members which include a body portion and opposed upwardlyextending side walls which are fixed to the body portion by such meansas spot welding. The combination of these separate members form achannel within which the feeler bar is caused to reciprocate during theperformance of its intended function. The means for reciprocating thefeeler bar in known mechanisms is by a stud member, assembled in thelatter and disposed adjacent one end thereof so as to extend laterallyfrom each side through aligned elongated slots provided in the opposedside walls of the feeler bar holder. A driving arm is operativelyconnected to the stud member which is efiective in sliding the feelerbar to and fro in a known manner.

An improved form of sliding feeler bar holder found to be highlydesirable from an economic as well as a manufacturing standpoint is thatof the roll formed concept. By this concept the entire holder isfabricated from a single member which forms the base portion andintegral opposed side walls extending upwardly therefrom. Themanufacture of feeler bar holders and their cooperating feeler bars aredone on a production basis and as a final operation are cut to theappropriate length to accommodate the particular width of loom on whichthey will perform their intended function. The top edges of the sidewalls of the three piece welded feeler bar holder are not made withnotches for a short distance adjacent that end provided with the drivemeans for reciprocating the feeler bar. During the manufacture of theseside walls, they are subjected to a punching operation which forms theslots through which the stud member carried by the feeler bar is causedto extend and which serves as a connection to the aforementioned drivemeans.

The sliding feeler bar holders of the roll formed concept are formedwith notches along the entire length of the bar and cannot be subjectedto the punching operation to form the usual slots which provide thenecessary clearance for connecting the feeler bar to its driving means.With notches being in the area where this slot is usually formed anattempt to form such a slot would be prohibited for the depth of thenotches would interfere causing a break away of the side walls in thisarea.

After the feeler bar holders of the roll formed type are cut to adesired length, a recess is formed adjacent one end which communicateswith the top edge of the side walls and is located in the same areawhere the usual slot is formed in the three piece welded type. Thesliding feeler bar is provided with the usual stud member which connectsit to the driving means to effect sliding reciprocation thereof within'the feeler bar holder. Being horizontally disposed, the stud member isarranged to extend from each side of the feeler bar and serves to limitthe reciprocal movement thereof by making contact with the vertical endsurfaces of the recesses formed in the feeler bar holder.

The stud members for connecting the sliding feeler bar to the drivingmeans for effecting its reciprocating movement also serves to attach thekeeper member according to the invention to said sliding feeler bar.This keeper member serves to prevent the rising of the feeler bar withinits respective holder during reciprocation thereof and also provides asimplified and improved means for readily removing it for the purpose ofreplacement or cleaning said holders.

Removal of the feeler bar from feeler bar holders of the three piecewelded type necessitates what is considered excessive down time of aloom for the driving stud member for each feeler bar must be removedbefore said feeler bar can be withdrawn from its holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The sliding feeler bar keeper member comprisingthe invention is fabricated from a flexible material such as nylon andattaches to the side of the sliding feeler bar by means of the drivingstud member which also interconnects said feeler bar with the means foreffecting its reciprocating movement. The configuration of the keepermember is generally L shaped and adjacent its point of attachment to thesliding feeler bar is provided with a depending leg portion whichextends downwardly from the recess formed in the feeler bar holder alongone outer wall of the latter and terminates in a laterally extendingfoot portion disposed in close proximity with the underside of saidfeeler bar holder. This foot portion serves to prevent the rising of thefeeler bar within its respective feeler bar holder during itsreciprocating movement. Additionally the sliding feeler bar can bequickly and easily removed from the feeler bar holder by simply flexingthe depending leg portion a distance sufficient for the foot portion toclear the underside of the sliding feeler bar holder.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improvedmechanical warp stop motion for looms of simplified construction, onethat is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and with long lifeexpectancy.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means for maintainingthe sliding feeler bar in its operating position within the slidingfeeler bar holder and permit its quick and simplified removal therefrom.

These and other objects of the invention will become more fully apparentby reference to the appended claims and as the following detaileddescription proceeds in reference to the figures of drawing wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of aportion of a mechanical warp stop motion for looms showing the slidingfeeler bar keeper member according to the invention applied thereto.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end view partially in section of the apparatus in FIGS. 1and 2, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sliding feeler bar keeper member.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As the general construction andoperation of a mechanical warp stop motion for looms to which thepresent invention is applicable is well known and familiar to thoseconversant in the art, and as the invention is entirely concerned with asliding feeler bar keeper member for such a stop motion, it is onlyconsidered necessary here to illustrate and describe those parts whichare directly concerned with a preferred form of the present invention.

On FIG. 1 a portion of a sliding feeler bar is shown at and includes theusual notches 11 formed on the top thereof. This sliding feeler bar 10is supported for reciprocating movement in a channel 13 (FIG. 2) of asliding feeler bar holder generally indicated by numeral 14 whichincludes as shown in FIG. 3 a base portion 15 with upwardly directedspaced sidewalls l6 and 17 extending therefrom. The upper portion ofeach of the sidewalls 16 and 17 are provided with notches l8 and in awell known manner cooperate with the notches ll of the sliding feelerbar 10 to stop the loom should the upper end of a drop wire 19 fail tobe suspended by its warp thread 20 a sufficient distance above thereciprocating feeler bar and its respective holder. Normally there isprovided a separate drop wire for each warp thread but for purpose ofbrevity only a single drop wire and warp thread have been shown.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 the sidewalls l6 and 17 are shown provided with alignedrecess 21 and 22 adjacent their ends which extends from the uppersurfaces thereof downwardly to the base portion 15 and have a lengthwhich substantially equals the distance the sliding feeler bar is causedto reciprocate therebetween. The means for reciprocating the slidingfeeler is attached adjacent one end of the latter within the area of therecesses 21 and 22 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. This means forreciprocating the sliding feeler bar includes a shouldered stud member23 having the shouldered portion thereof operatively connected to adriving arm 24 which is caused to reciprocate to and fro by means of itsconnection to a known type of driving lever not shown.

The threaded portion of stud member 23 extends through and beyond thatside of the sliding feeler for opposite said stud members connection tothe driving arm 24 and assembles into a threaded hole 25 of anintegrally formed spacer or boss 26 provided on a keeper membergenerally indicated by numeral 27. This keeper member has a generallyL-shaped body portion with a depending leg portion thereof beingidentified by numeral 28. Integral with the lower end of the leg portion28 the keeper member terminates with a laterally extending lip or footportion 29.

To summarize the operation the boss 26 on the keeper member 27 positionsthe latter so that the depending leg portion 28 thereof extendsdownwardly and in close proximity with the sidewall 16 of the slidingfeeler bar holder 14. This positions the foot portion 29 in closeproximity with the underside of the feeler bar holder and serves toprevent the rising or lifting of the sliding feeler bar during itsfunction of reciprocating within the channel of said holder.

The keeper member 27 is fabricated from a flexible material such asnylon and to remove the sliding feeler bar 10 from the channel 13 onesimply lifts the driving arm 24 out of contact with stud member 23 andthen manually flexes the leg portion 28 away from sidewall 16 a distancesufficient for the foot portion 29 to clear the underside of the slidingfeeler bar holder.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with apreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that modifications andvariations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as those skilled in the art will readilyunderstand. Such modifications and variations are considered to bewithin the purview and scope of the invention and the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An improved warp stop motion for a loom comprising:

a. a feeler bar holder having a base portion with upwardly directedspaced sidewalls defining a channel;

b. a feeler bar carried in said channel for reciprocating movement bydrive means operatively connected thereto;

c. keeper means for maintaining said feeler bar in said channel andpermit its removal therefrom including:

l. a body portion with means for attachment to said feeler bar;

,c}. a downwardly extending flexible leg portion disposed immediatelyadjacent to one of said sidewalls; and

3. a laterally extending terminus foot portion movable with said feelerbar in close proximity with the underside of said feeler bar holder.

1. An improved warp stop motion for a loom comprising: a. a feeler barholder having a base portion with upwardly directed spaced sidewallsdefining a channel; b. a feeler bar carried in said channel forreciprocating movement by drive means operatively connected thereto; c.keeper means for maintaining said feeler bar in said channel and permitits removal therefrom including:
 1. a body portion with means forattachment to said feeler bar;
 2. a downwardly extending flexible legportion disposed immediately adjacent to one of said sidewalls; and
 3. alaterally extending terminus foot portion movable with said feeler barin close proximity with the underside of said feeler bar holder.
 2. adownwardly extending flexible leg portion disposed immediately adjacentto one of said sidewalls; and
 3. a laterally extending terminus footportion movable with said feeler bar in close proximity with theunderside of said feeler bar holder.